3 FanDuel Defenses to Target in Week 10
Selecting a defense is never the most glamorous part of fantasy football. It often goes overlooked for the more fun positions that people want to watch and root for during the game. The good news is that if our opponents aren’t putting too much thought into their defense, we can gain an advantage with some research. So let’s dig in and try to identify some defenses that could be in a good position to score fantasy points this week.
The defenses with the highest salaries don't stand out as fantastic plays this week, so let's see if we can find value a bit lower down this week.
Tennessee Titans
FanDuel Salary: $4,400
The Tennessee Titans seem to be on a similar path as last season. They struggle to pass the ball on offense in most games and rely on the run game, and they need to play good D. They earned the number-one seed in the AFC last season and look to be on their way to a division title this year.
The Titans' 23 sacks are tied for ninth-most in the NFL. They've recorded three or more sacks in five straight games and six of eight games overall. They also have at least one takeaway in all but one game. They have played a pretty soft schedule but were able to get four sacks and an interception against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs a week ago.
The matchup for the Tennessee D/ST is much easier this week. They will play the Denver Broncos, who haven't been able to get things going on offense all season. They are 31st in overall offense, according to numberFire's metrics. Denver also ranks 21st in adjusted sack rate allowed.
The Broncos' implied team total is just 17.75 points, the lowest on the slate. The Titans' defense is our highest-projected defense this week, and they are just $4,400. This makes them one of the best D/ST plays on the slate this week.
Arizona Cardinals
FanDuel Salary: $4,000
The Arizona D/ST has picked things up after a really bad start. They faced a tough schedule to start the season, and the results made it look like they were one of the worst defenses in the league. In the last four games, they've turned things around.
Since Week 6, the Arizona Cardinals have the fourth-best fantasy defense going by fantasy points per game. In that stretch, they have 10 sacks, four interceptions and two fumbles recovered. They'll face an offense this week that has been really struggling for most of the season.
The Cardinals are on the road this week to do battle with the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams' offense has been in a horrible funk of late. Cooper Kupp had a 69-yard touchdown last week, and that one play made up 33% of their offensive yardage in the game. Without that long score, they averaged an abysmal 2.53 yards per play. They have been better at taking care of the ball of late, but earlier in the season, they allowed the defense to score a touchdown in three straight games.
On top of all that, it now appears that Matthew Stafford might not play this week. If Stafford can't go, he would be replaced by John Wolford. Wolford has one career start under his belt, against these Cardinals in 2020. In that game, he threw no touchdowns, had an interception and took two sacks. The Rams' offensive line appears to be much worse than it was that year, and things could get really ugly in this game.
If Wolford is starting, the Cardinals' defense is a great play in all formats.
Minnesota Vikings
FanDuel Salary: $3,200
The big quarterback injury situation of the week isn't Stafford -- it's Josh Allen. The star quarterback's status is up in the air against the Minnesota Vikings after he missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday. This obviously impacts the defense that he would be facing.
The Minnesota D/ST has been good this season and could be a decent play at this low salary even if Allen were fully healthy. They are sixth in adjusted sack rate and ninth in overall defense by our numbers. This defense has really stepped things up in the past three games, with 13 sacks and seven takeaways in that time.
Even if Allen does play, it's worth wondering how effective he can be with an elbow injury serious enough to cause him to miss multiple practices. He's thrown multiple interceptions in each of the past two games, so he still has some of the old, mistake-prone Allen in him.
If Allen can't play, Case Keenum would be the starter. Keenum is a journeyman quarterback who has not been terrible, but he is obviously is a significant downgrade from Allen. If it's Keenum, the Vikings' defense will likely be popular at this low salary, and they would be very easy to like.
Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
